


When the Wise Fall

by SethYamachi6



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Ezio tries his best, Fluff and Crack, Found Family, Let Desmond have a good father figure, M/M, Multi, Other, Protective Ezio Auditore da Firenze
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:40:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22515625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SethYamachi6/pseuds/SethYamachi6
Summary: Desmond is supposed to be dead, but fate isn't done with him yet. Waking up in a time not his own and in a unfamiliar body, Desmond has to figure out what fate has left in store for him and with his ancestor Ezio by his side, it can't be that bad.Can it?
Relationships: Ezio Auditore da Firenze & Desmond Miles
Comments: 23
Kudos: 265





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> I have no clue what I am doing, but heck let's give it a try anyways! Will probably add more tags as the story goes on!  
> Hope you enjoy!

The first thing he realizes is that there are what feels like sunlight on his face, it’s warm against his skin and blinding when he tries to open his eyes. After some time of getting used to the brightness, he realizes that he’s lying on his back in some sort of hole in the ground. The dirt feels cold under him and there is an annoying rock digging into his lower back.

This isn’t how he figured death would feel like, considering that he should be dead.

He remembers touching the Eye, the flaring brightness and the intense burning pain racing along his arm before blacking out. He definitely should be dead and yet the faint feeling of his beating heart, the taste of fresh air tells him he’s not.

“Huh…”

Getting his body to move takes more effort, it’s feels heavy and weirdly unfamiliar to him – but at least he can feel all his limbs. There is a small noticeable tingle in his right hand and when he lifts it there is surprisingly no burn, just a normal dirty looking arm.

“At least I don’t have to deal with an extensive burn…” He mutters to himself as he flexes the hand and slowly eases himself in a sitting position.

As he looks down on himself, he realizes in a confused horror the state of his body – biting down a scream and taking a deep breath to think.

“Fuck.”

The only thing on his body is what probably used to be a simple tunic, which now is only a bloody and ripped rag – luckily for him, he feels no actual wounds when he carefully prods the bloody holes. He is also covered in thick layer of dirt and grime, which makes him ache for a good bath. Gods what he wouldn’t give for a warm bath right now.

He is still confused as hell, because what the hell is going on, why isn’t he dead? And where the actual fuck is, he?

“Ok Desmond, freak out later and figure this shit out first.” He says to himself, even though he is very much slowly freaking out right now.

Getting to his feet is a slow progress and leaves him shaking when he’s finally upright, not injured but sore as fuck – he kind of feels like a newborn calf, on his shaking legs.

Now that he is upright, he sees that the walls of his hole reach his chest, and it very much looks like a poorly dug grave. Crawling out of it takes more effort that it should, and Desmond has to take a few seconds on his hands and knees, taking deep breaths to make his sore limbs stop shaking like crazy.

There is nobody around to witness Desmond’s rise from the grave, which is very fortunate, since he has absolutely no idea how to even begin explaining anything – when himself has no clue.

Looking around, taking in the surroundings which looks suspiciously like the Italian countryside from the time in Ezio’s memories. Desmond can only feel himself getting more confused. There are more graves and he can see the rotting body of a woman in the one next to him. It’s when the smell of death reaches him that he’s quite certain that this isn’t some weird Isu hallucinatory dream, it feels to damn real to be that.

“What the fuck.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face in confused frustration, does little to help against the upcoming headache that is gathering behind his eyes. Screw this whole situation, really, he is definitely freaking out now. A mantra of what the fuck going through his head.

It is Desmond’s stomach that snaps him out of his little freak-out, making itself known with sharp twist, and of course he’s starving now – just what’s he needs. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, he assesses his situation. He’s alone and now starving in a place that he is pretty certain is an Italian countryside, the only things nearby is the rotting corpses in the graves – which he’s going to stay clear of. 

Taking a deep breath, Desmond activates the Eagle Vision. There is nothing that is usable nearby, which is a bit disappointing cause he could really use a break, but no. Letting his senses spread as far he is able too, Desmond faintly he registers something of importance coming from somewhere behind him, it’s to far for him to know what is it – but hey, it’s at least something.

So, with a sigh and without a better choice, Desmond turns and starts heading that direction.

_____________________________

By the time Desmond finally encounter some form of civilization, his bare feet are beyond sore and his throat feels like a desert, his equally empty stomach is also starting to hurt.

It is a rather sad looking farm that becomes his savior, the people owning it doesn’t seem to be home, which probably is for the best considering his current looks.

There is a small well located besides one of the saddest looking stable, Desmond’s ever seen in his life. But the water he draws from the well is the most amazing thing he has felt in a long while – which is a bit sad considering the mess that is Desmond’s life.

Once he’s fully hydrated and after a feeble attempt at cleaning himself – he really hopes that he doesn’t gets an infection from it, Desmond finally takes in the rest of his surroundings and realizes why no is home. The door to the main house is broken in and when he takes careful steps over the threshold, sees that the inside is also very wrecked – spots of dried blood scattered everywhere. There is nothing left of value, but after some searching, Desmond manages dig out a hole-ridden pair of pants. It’s a weird fit on him, a bit to tight on his calves and to wide on his waist – but he makes it work with a bit of rope that he also finds.

Desmond still looks like an absolute mess, there is no denying that but at least he’s more covered now – not as breezy as it was before.

Sadly, the only leftover of foods he finds is rotten and smells terrible, so he slowly accepts that he’s going to have to be hungry till he finds something safer to eat.

As he leaves the house, by pure chance, he spots the handle of a small knife under some rubble by the entrance and when he pulls it free – he almost weeps at the sight of it. It’s small and not in the best condition, but it is a knife, a weapon that he can use to defend himself if needed. Securing it to his rope belt, actually feels like a small comfort to him, and God, Desmond really deserves some small comforts right now.

Feeling a bit better now, Desmond takes a second to feel for what he is heading for, it still feels a bit far away – but it is still the only thing he has going for him.

“Don’t have much choice, come on Miles, you can do this!” He mutters to himself and continues on his way.

_________________________________

It feels like he's been walking for months, and the bare sole of his feet have already gone from painful to numb - it is kind of a blessing at this point. He had filled himself with as much water he could stand before leaving the abandoned farm behind, but he could already feel his throat slowly becoming drier. Ignoring his empty howling stomach was also getting more harder, at this point Desmond kind of felt like a zombie.

Accidentally stubbing his toes on stupid a rock snapped the last of his remaining patience, and if it weren't for him stumbling through the bushes - missing that there were a small cliff waiting for him on the other side, he would have probably started a fight with that stupid rock.

But suddenly finding no solid ground under his feet, makes him quickly forget about his earlier issues.

Desmond gets out a, “Holy shit!” as he finds himself free falling, limbs flailing helplessly in the air.

The impact with the hard-unforgiving ground is quite painful and his breath is instantly knocked out of him, he could probably have done a better landing - considering he is a freaking Assassin, but no, nothing in Desmond's life could ever be easy.

If he wasn't already sore from before, he was definitely now and the sudden pain radiating from the shoulder he landed on, didn't help much. He get’s out a pained groan as he tries to roll over, and fuck, he must have hit his head too – vision swimming in and out of focus.

There are noises coming from Desmond’s left, and it takes his brain a few seconds to register that someone is speaking to him – speaking in Italian, what. He should probably feel embarrassed that someone had witnessed his bad tumble, but he is in too much pain now to give a damn and he really should get up if the owner of the voice turn out to be hostile - so that he can defend himself.

Getting his feet under himself is a chore and his vision blacks out for a second, because of the sharp pain his movements cause, but he get’s somewhat upright, in a bit of a shitty defensive position. But hey, at least it’s better than nothing.

The voice is still talking, trying to get his attention and there isn’t only one voice, but two of them he realizes. He squints at them, his blurry vision making hard to make out details of the blurry figures before him – at least he sees that they are seated on horses. He knows the language, thanks to Ezio, but everything sounds too muted and he can’t make sense of the words spoken to him.

Yeah. Desmond is pretty sure that he hit his head in the fall now, it’s the slowly raising nausea that confirms it.

One of the blurry shapes gets of their horse and is slowly walking towards Desmond, hands up in a non-threatening position, speaking more softly than before – even though Desmond is to disoriented to understand.

There are dark spots in vision now, but as the person gets closer, Desmond manages to make out more details. And wow, the person looks very much like his very late ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, in his full armor of Altair regalia.

“Ah, I must really be out of it, if I’m hallucinating Ezio,” He murmurs out loud, as his last strength leaves him and promptly drops unconscious at his ancestors’ feet.


	2. Familiar

Ezio’s mind is still reeling from his time in the Vault under the Vatican, there are still so many questions churning in his mind and none of them had been answered. The Apple had almost been a too heavy weight in his palm, and he had gladly passed it over to his uncle, it would be safer with him for now – until Ezio’s mind was more settled.

The presence of his uncle is almost a godsend, Mario keeps Ezio’s confused and fraying mind grounded enough that their escape from the Vatican goes without much trouble – a few Papal guards is nothing that two Assassins can’t handle.

Mario steers them away from the city, to safety, and it’s when the enemy completely gives up the chase – that Ezio let’s himself fall in deep thoughts. Over the events that had happened, his fight with Rodrigo Borgia, meeting the goddess Minerva, the great disaster of past and future, Desmond.

Minerva had claimed that his part had been finished, as the prophet – the message had been delivered through him somehow, to Desmond. But was that really all, was it really done?

Would he go through rest of his life like this, with no answer to this mystery, with his questions going unanswered?

He was but a man and time would tell he supposed, if there were more waiting for him in future.

The revenge for his family had been completed with Rodrigo Borgia, as the last man – even though he had not struck a killing blown. Leaving the man’s fate in his own hands.

Ezio had told Rodrigo that he had grown tired of killing, that he wanted part no more.

So now he had time to focus on other things, time to spend with his remaining family, to truly enjoy the benefits of a fully restored Monteriggioni

Yes, maybe some time to relax, would do Ezio some good.

______________________________

They are not far from Monteriggione and Ezio is trying his best to explain the events of the Vault with his uncle, when suddenly the bushes on the small cliffside to their right, starts rustling.

There is a curse yelled out, as a poor soul comes tumbling out and goes crashing with the ground in a great spectacle of flailing limbs.

The noise the stranger makes at the impact with the ground sounds rather painful, and the groan that comes out the stranger – Ezio can sympathize with, remembering the times when he learned to scale wall and run on rooftops.

He has a silent exchange with his uncle, and then looks back at the stranger on the ground with his Sight.

What he sees, is not at all what he had expected and the surprise he feels actually stuns him – for the stranger is glowing a weird mix of golden and blue light. And the blue is not the darker one he usually associates with allies, but a lighter tone that is for family.

Ezio’s Sight has never failed him before, and he has certainly never seen a mix of the colors like this either.

His uncle must have seen the surprise on Ezio’s face because he calls out for the stranger first. “Greetings, it was quite the fall you took there, are you injured?”

No response.

“Stranger, do you need any assistance?”

Still no response, it doesn’t seem like the poor soul had even heard his uncle.

“Nephew?” Mario asks him uncertain now, with a hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Recovering from his surprise, he takes a second look at the stranger. It looks to be a man, thin with long limbs, short dark hair, skin slightly darker than Ezio’s own – or it may be simply dirt and grime, for the man looks like a downright mess. There are splotches of dried blood on his rags, but Ezio cannot see any bleeding or healing injuries on the man’s body.

“I’m unsure, uncle, my Sight says he is of no danger to us.”

“Hmmm, what are we supposed to do with him then? It seems a bit cruel just to leave him there.”

Ezio nods at that, and it is then that the man seems to become aware of their presence, slowly getting up and curling himself in a defensive position.

"Hello, young man!" He tries again but there is still no response, perhaps the stranger is deaf or has a head injury, Ezio thinks - that would make sense of the lack of response.

Seems like Ezio must proceed carefully then, and scaring the poor man won't be much help, in getting answers.

He slips off his horse and approaches the man slowly, hands up in as a sign of no threat.

The stranger had noticed his movements and is now squinting at Ezio, it is also then, that Ezio gets a good look at the young man face - for the stranger looks young under the grime, perhaps even in his late teens.

His face though, is strikingly familiar and Ezio almost freezes at the surprise he feels. The sharp intake of breath behind him confirms that Mario is realizing the same.

"We mean you no harm," Ezio says slowly as the young man is trying to look at him, but his eyes are hazy and unfocused.

The young man's eyes are strange to behold, having two different colors, one warm brown like Ezio's own and the other almost glows golden - eerily like the light of the Apple.

"I must really be out of it, if I'm hallucinating Ezio." The man mumbles and fall in a dead faint at Ezio's feet.

The stranger knows of Ezio's name, that, is very surprising.

This is not how he imagined the day would go, not at all, it almost feels too much for Ezio.

"Did he pass out?" Mario asks behind him.

"Yes, must have hit his head when he fell. His eyes had trouble focusing on me."

"Hmmm, this is a quite odd situation, what do you want to do, nephew?"

"I… wasn't expecting something like this would happen, but we will bring him with us, hopefully he can answer some of my questions when he awakes."

"That is probably for the best," Mario says, nodding, "Have always wondered when the day would come, that you would meet with the result of your numerous conquests, nephew." His uncle adds teasingly with a knowing look.

"UNCLE!"

Mario only laughs at his outcry, and Ezio knows that he deserves it. He had found comfort and pleasure in many different women, throughout his different journeys. That something had come out of it, made some sense - not that he was prepared for it. It must be impossible to actually be prepared for such a thing, to meet your illegitimate child so sudden.

Oh dear, Claudia will probably have a field-day with this, he can already hear his sister tearing into him about this.

Ezio is definitely not ready for this.

But the evidence is lying unconscious at his feet, and it's probably way too late for him to run away, like a coward.

What is done, is done.

And with a deep sigh, Ezio gathers the boy in his arms and lifts.

Getting him secured to the horse is easy enough, and Ezio is already steeling his mind for what's waiting for him ahead.

Ignoring his uncle's looks, they set ahead.

________________________________

To Ezio, the rest of the way, takes no time at all and suddenly, they come to a stop at the gates of Monteriggioni.

"I will get the doctor and meet you at the Villa, nephew." Mario says to him, handing the reins to his horse over to the stable hand.

Ezio nods at that, and turns to the stable hand, "You can come and collect my horse a bit later."

"Yes, ser Ezio."

There a few people milling around in the streets, and when they see him coming, they give him warm greetings - which he happily returns.

Seeing Monteriggioni like this fills him with great pride. It had given him something that, he thought he lost at the death of his father and brothers, it had given him a place he could call home.

Claudia is the one to greet him when he arrives before the Villa, and for a small second, he considers turning around.

He is not looking forward to the discussion that will be unleashed on him, once his sister realizes the identity of his passenger.

Steeling himself, he gives her a big smile and calls for her.

"Dear sister, what a lovely sight you make!"

"Ezio! I had heard words of your return; you have been missed brother. But what is this, I see you have someone with you?"

Oh dear.

"Someone in need of aid, for now. Uncle is getting Doctor Ceresa and I would like to settle our guest first, and then you can ask your questions."

Claudia sets her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing at that, but nods.

"Very well, you can set your guest down in the west wing, there is an empty room there."

"Thank you, sister. I will do that."

Ezio let's himself off the horse and eases the young man from the back of the horse, into his arms.

There is a sharp intake of breath from behind him, and that can only mean his sister caught the appearance of his guest.

"Ezio -," Claudia starts, but Ezio interrupts before she chews him out.

"Claudia, please later!"

She gives him a stink eye at that but doesn't say anything more about that.

Turning on her heel, she goes for the entrance to the Villa, and Ezio follows with his burden.

"Oh, I almost forgot, the countess of Forli is also here to see you."

"Caterina is here?"

"Yes, you sure have a lot of interesting friends, brother."

Ezio grimaces at the tone of Claudia's voice at that.

Luckily, there is no one waiting in the entrance hall. Which is just as good and Claudia leads them up the stairs, to the left and down the hallway. She stops by the door of the small guest room, giving him a look over her shoulder and opens the door for him.

It is a simple room, sparsely decorated with only a bed and a small table.

Ezio sets the young man down on the bed, not bothering with the covers, since the doctor will need full access during the exam.

"I will see if Annetta can find something better for our guest to wear, and some water and a rag for washing." Claudia says and leaves before Ezio can muster up any reply.

God, Ezio is exhausted and really needs a bath, himself. But he already knows that he won't have any time for that until much, much later.

All of it feels so unreal, the last couple of day has been very trying on Ezio, he would probably have broken under all the weight he feels on his shoulders - had he been a lesser man.

A small sound pulls Ezio out of his thoughts, and it takes him a second to realize that it had come from the young man, who still seems unconscious, but his face has turned into a pained grimace.

Ezio frowns at that, unsure, when another pained whine comes from the young man and by pure reaction, Ezio puts his hand on the other’s shoulder.

He gives the shoulder an uncertain, but comforting stroke.

“We may not know each other yet, and I was not expecting you, but you are safe here.” He says carefully, still stroking the man’s shoulder, waiting for him to settle.

After a short time, the young man’s pain fades away and his face turns peaceful.

The footsteps Ezio hears coming towards the room makes him reluctantly let his hand drop from the other’s shoulder, and he takes a step back.

“Nephew, I got the doctor here with me,” Mario says as he appears in the doorway with the doctor right behind him. “I will leave the rest up to you then, you can find me in the study afterwards.”

And Ezio barely gets out an ‘Thank you, uncle’, before Mario moves away.

So, he turns to the doctor with a tired smile.

“Thank you for coming on such a short notice, doctor!”

“Think nothing of it, ser Ezio, it is my duty to give my aid when it’s needed. Ser Mario didn’t explain much, but I can guess that the young man is the patient?”

“Yes, he took quite a bad fall and fell unconscious shortly after, but it seems like he already was in a bad state before that.”

Doctor Ceresa nods at that, setting down his satchel and get’s closer to examine the young man.

Annetta appears then, carrying with her a big bowl of water and a stack of cloth, which Ezio let’s her set down on the table by the bed.

“Thank you, Annetta.”

“My pleasure, ser Ezio, just call upon me if you need anything else.” She replies, giving a short bow and leaves them.

The doctor looks over at the bowl of water and nods, “Good, I will have to wash him before continuing my exam. Will you be helping me then, Ser Ezio?”

Ezio nods, as he removes his bracers and glove, rolling up his sleeves.

Then they get to work.

_______________________________

“Send for me when he awakes, I will take second look then, too make sure he didn’t suffer any lasting damages from the head injury.”

“Alright, I will do that, thank you again doctor for coming.”

“Yes yes, take care, ser Ezio.” Doctor Ceresa says as he pats Ezio’s shoulder with a knowing smile. “Will see you later then!” And then turns, walking away, leaving Ezio by the Villa entrance.

The doctor is a good man, but Ezio is already wondering how soon Monteriggioni is going to be buzzing with the rumors of his mysterious guest, who bears a strikingly familiarity to him. He is defiantly going to be the talk of the town for months after this.

Taking a deep breath, Ezio steels himself for what is coming next, he knows that Claudia has gathered everyone in his uncle’s study – and they are just waiting for him now.

As Ezio nears the study, he can hear their voices conversing with each other and take a short moment for himself, to get his mind in order.

His appearance in the doorway makes the occupants of the room fall silent, but Maria gets to her feet and they meet in a warm embrace.

“Ezio, my son, it is good to see you back in good health.”

“It is good to see you too, I have missed you dearly, mother.”

They walk back together to the rest of the group, Maria’s hand linked in Ezio’s own.

His sister is sitting near Caterina – Countess of Forlì, who is still looks as beautiful and dangerous, as last time Ezio had seen her.

“Caterina, a pleasure to see you,” Ezio says with a courteous bow.

“Ezio, same to you, I had hoped to speak with you, but I can see that Machiavelli is getting impatient, “She says, ignoring Machiavelli’s indignant huff with knowing smile. “Later we can talk.”

He nods to the countess at that, letting his mother take a seat besides him, before turning to Machiavelli. Who is looking guarded, yet questioningly at him.

“Mario has told us his account of what had happened, but it is only you that have the full tale.” Machiavelli says and slowly rises from his seat, not bothering with any niceties.

“I encountered Rodrigo Borgia when I arrived at the Vatican and confronted him. He had an advantage over me in the beginning, for in his possession was another piece of Eden, the Papal Staff. But with the help of the Apple, I managed to overpower him and take the Staff from him. Together they unlocked the secret vault and only I gained entrance to it, Rodrigo I left behind in his own despair at his failure.”

Ezio takes a breath, thinking of the best way to put the unbelievable things he saw into words.

“The vault held wonders that I could barely fathom, it was there a goddess came to me, Minerva, appearing before me as a vision. Her appearance was human, yet seemed more, speaking of an ancient race of an immense greatness who perished centuries ago - in a great disaster that burned our world. She warned that the same disaster will happen again in the far future, and it will be the end of humankind.”

There is a stunned silence among the others, and it’s his sister that asks,

“Will there be any salvation?”

Ezio nods and continues,

“Her kind left great temples, that has been lost with time, but found they may hold the key to our salvation. I am but the prophet, and most of what she said was not meant for me, she told me so herself. Apparently, I carry a connection with someone called Desmond, who will be the one to save our world and she spoke to him through me.”

He scrubs a tired hand over his face.

“It was hard to make sense of it all, and when I tried to ask for more information, she simply stated that she had finished her message and then vanished. There is still very much that I am unsure of, but the Apple was left in my possession while the Staff was claimed by earth.”

“Astounding.” Caterina says stunned.

“I can’t even begin to imagine…” Claudia adds.

Machiavelli turns to pace, hand on his chin, in thought, “It is good news that the vault didn’t contain a terrible weapon, as we first feared.” He says after some time. “But Rodrigo Borgia still lives?”

“I did not kill him.” Ezio answers.

“You should have done so, and now I fear we’re sure to suffer for it.” Machiavelli says frowning, “Then I must go to Rome, to prepare us for the danger that will surely head our way.”

With that Machiavelli leaves the room in haste.

“He will come around, nephew. I trust your judgment even if I do not know why you spared him.” Mario says after some time, giving Ezio’s shoulder a friendly pat. “But what is the state of our guest?”

“A small headwound and bruised shoulder, luckily nothing more concerning injuries than that. Starvation and dehydration seemed to be the most pressing issue, but Doctor Ceresa said to call for him when our guest awakes.”

Mario gives him a small smile after that and nods, “Then we will take care of those needs, but I also think it is time to get some food and drink in you, nephew!”

Ezio chuckles at that, for he realizes that his stomach gnawing in hunger, and he has yet to care for his needs since they arrived at Monteriggioni.

“Yes, I believe you’re right, uncle.”

______________________________________

He is surrounded by warmth, the good kind of warmth too, it feels amazing against his sore body. There is also pain, but it’s muted enough that he doesn’t care, and Desmond would rather focus on the good soft and warm feeling – which he hasn’t felt in way too long.

The roof he sees when he finally opens his eyes, feels familiar, like in a distant dream.

It’s a simple room he’s in with a single bed that he is currently laying in, a small table to his right that has a jug on it – which his dry throat hopes has water in it.

Moving slowly, he reaches for the jug and to his delight it is filled with water when peeks down in it. First gulp of water feels refreshing and soothing for his dry throat.

Desmond also realizes after emptying half of the jug, that he really needs to use the toilet, like really needs to take a leak.

He pushes the covers off his body and slowly pushes himself up so that he sits by the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath to ground himself against the spike of pain from his shoulder.

Someone had put him in a new longer tunic, his old ‘clothes’ gone, probably for the best too even though Desmond kind of misses his makeshift weapon.

A simple chamber pot is sitting near the end of the bed, it would work well enough for his needs to relieve himself, even though it felt a bit embarrassing.

It is also when Desmond is in the middle of relieving himself, that the door to his room opens – leaving him staring dumbfounded at Ezio, who looks very much real. And surprised, judging by his expression at the sight of Desmond standing there, awake.

Oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ezio sure doesn't have it easy.  
> Also, if you see any major grammar fail don't be afraid to point it out, it will help me big time :D  
> Hope you guys enjoy!


End file.
